Influence of processing methods on shelf life and nutritional quality of Clarias gariepinus fillets

The study evaluated effects of different processing methods (charcoal smoking, electric and gas drying) on proximate composition and stability status in fillets of Clarias gariepinus. The stability indices were evaluated after 60-days storage of the processed fish. Standard methods were employed in all the analyses. The results showed that electric-dried fillets recorded the highest protein content (16.97±0.12%), the lowest water activity (0.49±0.05mg/100g), the highest water resumption (60%) at room temperature and the lowest TVB-N value of 5.0±0.01mg/100g. Proximate analysis revealed that smoked fillets had the lowest protein content of 11.30±0.08%, the highest lipid (6.99±0.15%), the highest water activity 0.71±0.14 and the lowest water resumption at room temperature (36.5%). Fish fillets processed with gas oven had intermediate values of various indices tested when compared with other methods. Keywords: Smoking, electric drying, gas drying, shelf life, proximate composition